I love juice. Whether it's vegetable or fruit juice, I really enjoy a fresh glass of juice. Unfortunately, most juice sold in the stores is loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Even the natural juices have high levels of natural sugar. But juice — especially fresh juice — in moderation is great for you. However, there's another problem with juice that you rarely hear about.

Juice degrades very quickly. While it can still taste wonderful, it begins to lose its beneficial antioxidants and other phytochemicals once you expose it to oxygen. This happens with store-bought juice and when you juice it yourself. So how can you get all the wonderful nutrients of juice without any of its negatives.

Some nutrition companies have created some incredible green superfoods out of plant concentrates. These are great for boosting your nutrition levels. They have all the nutritional benefits of juice — some are even better — but they don't have any of the negatives.

The first one I ever tried, some 20 years ago, was Barley Green. It's a concentrate of barley grass (sprout) juice. Wheat grass juice falls into the same category. Sprouts are the essence of vibrant life. They are the germinated seed pouring forth all its intense phytochemical power for the newly emerging shoot.

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The companies found a way to harvest the sprout, juice it, and under very careful conditions to preserve the critical phytonutrients, dry the juice into powder. The powder is far more resistant to degradation than the liquid, which means the powder retains its nutrients far longer than juice. It even holds onto these nutrients after you expose it to oxygen.

Even better, these green products don't have any synthetic vitamins added. It's a whole food with a complete balance of everything the food would have if you ate it whole. So, it's loaded with macro minerals, trace minerals, and complete vitamin complexes. But, loaded doesn't necessarily mean huge amounts. It means balanced amounts of nutrients in the form and fashion that nature intended. So, if you are deficient (likely) in a few nutrients, green products might just be the one to fill in the gaps.

There are a lot of green products on the market, so which one should you buy? That's a tough decision, as most of the products have all the nutrients you need. So, for me, it comes down to taste. Being a near vegan (dairy only), I love the taste of greens and green products. But some people can't handle the bitterness of a pure greens product. (The bitter taste comes from all those phytochemicals). And many of my patients didn't want to use some of the products I recommended.

So I took the concept to a friend, Steve Levine, PhD in the early 1990s. Steve happens to be phenomenal at blending things to a taste that is agreeable with most people. Steve went further than Barley Green. He combined the dried juices of several greens, including organic wheat grass, alfalfa grass, oat grass, barley grass, spirulina, and cracked cell chlorella. To that he added seaweed extract, wheat sprout, beet juice (alone a super food), spinach powder (containing octacosanol), and a bunch of probiotics and prebiotics to feed the beneficial microbes. Then he added adaptogen and immune-enhancing herbal extracts, including eleuthero extract (Siberian ginseng), astragalus, licorice root powder, suma powder, Echinacea, and ginger root powder.ÿ These offer support to your immune system and critical hormone-producing organs, such as the adrenals.

He also added lecithin, which is important for a healthy heart, brain, and cell membranes. And he included some more items I just love. These include: gingko leaf extract, green tea extract, grape seed extract, and bilberry extract.

His formulation was the best I had ever seen in a greens product. But most importantly, it was smooth and tasty. When I first started offering the product in Alaska, it quickly became the hottest seller. The product is ProGreensr. I have seen it dramatically help everything from chronic fatigue to frequent colds. It really boosts your immune system so your body can fight off illness before it can take hold. I've used ProGreens for years instead of juice. I still enjoy fresh juice. But ProGreens has it all — without any of the negatives. And it's now available through Advanced Bionutritionals.

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